17
FLIGHT International, 7 January 1965
Black Brant III (right), now in
production at Canadian Bristol
Aerojet's Winnipeg plant, is
18ft 8in long and can carry a
501b pay load to heights approach-
ing 100 miles. Black Brant VB
(below), 24ft in length, is sched-
uled to make its first fight soon;
it should carry 1751b to a height
of almost 300 miles
the programme has produced a number of promising ideas, several
of which have been the basis for new products and hardware
thoroughly evaluated in the Black Brant flight programme. Some
of these items already have been sold to US and European customers,
and the company expects that they will constitute a modest export
business for some years to come.
Among the specific by-products are the following:—
1. Cosmic-ray altimeter This is a light, compact and economical
instrument carried aboard the rocket to determine accurately the
time and height of apogee without reference to extensive ground-
based equipment. It is particularly valuable for rocket flights where
radar tracking equipment is marginal, such as at some of the newer
European and Asian ranges, or where back-up information is
required as an insurance against the loss of radar tracking.
2. Attitude-measuring system A magnetometer and solar
sensor, developed as by-products of the Black Brant programme,
have been combined to form a simple and economical aspsct-
measuring system for rockets or ballistic projectiles. Considerable
interest in this approach has been shown by US agencies and a
special high-g version recently provided the first meaningful data
on projectile attitude yet obtained in the Martlet gun-launched
project of McGill University.
3. Telemetry devices The Radio and Electrical Engineering
Division of the National Research Council has designed a number
of units for Black Brant III. These include a reliable and efficient
solid-state telemetry transmitter, an aerial system capable of
withstanding the high temperatures and mechanical forces of Mach
7 flight, and the associated power feeding and monitoring networks
BLACK BRANT HI FIRINGS
Vehicle
No
01
02
03
OH
05
06
07
08
09
Launchsite
Wallops
Wallops
Wallops
Wallops
Wallops
Wallops
Pt Mugu
Pt Mugu
Churchill
Date
June 15,
1962
June 15,
1962
June 19,
1962
June 28,
1962
Dec 13,
1962
Dec 13.
1962
July 1.
1963
Nov 7,
1963
April 21,1964
Pay load (Ib)
net
58.2
59.7
35.9
57.6
7Z5
70.5
49.3
66.1
51.5
gross
92.9
95.1
70.9
89.3
103.8
102.6
84.2
96.9
81.6
Apogee
actual
61.1
57.9
—
7.9
61.3
56.6
72.5
93.2
(miles)
est.
68.8
63.3
78.7
71.1
61.6
58.1
80.7
71.5
93.2
Range
(miles)
60.9
85.4
—
14.9
75.5
76.4
_
69.4
39.9
Max
velocity
(ft/sec)
5,618
5,596
—
4,620
5,460
5,500
5,758
6,250
Changes to vehicle
nil
nil
extra Inconel fin cuffs
vehicle deliberately spun; In-
conel fin cuffs; heavy nozzle
new, stiffer Tins, using Avcoat
insulation; increased align-
ment accuracy
new, stiffer fins using Avcoat
insulation; increased align-ment accuracy; symmetrical
launch lugs
lightweightfins insulated with
filament-wound glass-fibre;
increased alignment accuracy,
locked nose
fins identical to vehicles 05
and 06; nose assembly spin-
balanced; increased alignment
accuracy, locked nose
fins identical to 05 and 06;
parallel section of nose fairing
eliminated, volume now 1 cu
ft; new, lighter nozzle; motor
external insuiant eliminated,
101b more propellant, new
internal motor liner, propel-lant made and motor filled at
CBA (Rockwood); payload
statically balanced; increased
alignment accuracy, locked
nose
Remarks
Max altitude 11 per cent less than
estimate; lateral disturbance at
6.5sec; full telemetry to splash
Lateral disturbance in excess 5g
at 7sec; vehicle trimmed-out at
lower elevation angle to smoothflight; full telemetry to splash
Telemetry and radar track lost
during disturbance at 7sec:
tracking films indicate vehicle
recovered and proceeded to
stable flightLateral disturbance at 7sec
produced abrupt change inazimuth and elevation angle with
reduced velocity; full telemetry
to splashNo evidence of any significant
sudden lateral disturbance;
achieved 99 per cent estimatedperformance; full telemetry to
splash
Smooth flight similar to 05;
achieved 97 per cent of estimatedperformance; full telemetry to
splash
Lateral disturbance commencing
7.4sec; loss of telemetry and noseassembly at 8.25sec; tractcing
films indicate vehicle recovered
and proceeded in stable flight to
unknown altitudeBuild-up of lateral acceleration
to about 5g at point of max
dynamic head; flight otherwise
excellent, negligible coningmotion; vehicle reached 101.5
per cent of predicted apogee;
full telemetry to splash
Smooth flight except 5g build-up
at peak dynamic head, then
heavily damped; vehicle reached
predicted apogee, impacted
3,000ft from calculated pjint;
large coning angles due to roll-
yaw resonance above 150,003ft;motion eliminated at re-entry;
full telemetry to splash